Tuesday, September 20, 2011

doing badly is a good enough start

Fall is my favorite season. It was easy last night to get out there on Lulu after supper and just enjoy the beauty of the evening. I rode out to Sunset Marina again, up to Schwiebert Park, and then climbed the 17th Street hill again to come home. Having left earlier, I made the whole ride in daylight, with the sun just starting to set as I walked Lulu down my hill and home.

I can manage stoplights with my taller seat. It's not as convenient as the short seat was; I jump off, get my right pedal moved to the top, and then stand there with Lulu leaned into me, balancing on my left foot with my right foot poised on the pedal, waiting for takeoff. I do believe some of the drivers of the cars around me were amused at the little chunky lady at the stoplight, but oh well. I've been funny before, I'll be funny again. I yam what I yam, eh? Meanwhile I am trying to work up the nerve to experiment with how hard or easy it would be to stay on my seat and just lean her over so I can put a foot down. Sounds like a good way to fall and make even more a fool of myself, but I might do some experimenting on that out where no one is looking.

I was thinking this morning how this whole biking thing has been a good lesson for me in just doing something, even if I can only do it badly. I have been riding Lulu for 18 months, and for more than 17 of those, I had the seat set wrong. But you know what? I still got exercise, still lost weight, still fell in love with riding. It's nice now to have the seat right and feel how much better it all works...but what a loss it would have been, if I had waited until I could do it *perfectly* before getting started. I suspect that the same is true with my running...a year from now I will probably know things about it that will cause me to realize I "did it wrong" at the start. But meanwhile, I am getting stronger every day, enjoying an activity I only knew how to dread and hate before now, and learning much about disciplining my body.

So who cares if I'm not doing it perfectly? Not me.

Go out and care enough to do something all wrong today. You'll get it right eventually!